


Talking With Her

by ShayLynnD



Series: Being With Them [1]
Category: Lancer (TV)
Genre: Chase A Wild Horse, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:47:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25287799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShayLynnD/pseuds/ShayLynnD
Summary: A conversation with Teresa after the close of the episode Chase a Wild Horse.
Relationships: Family - Relationship
Series: Being With Them [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1831969





	Talking With Her

This story is 1st in the series of Being With Them.

Special Thanks to My Beta, Margaret Pollitt

Talking With Her  
By Sherry F. Dancy

This short conversation takes place in the evening when Johnny comes home in Chase a Wild Horse.

"T'resa, what are you doing out here? It's getting chilly." Johnny hopped down from his perch on the adobe wall that edged the front of the estancia.

Teresa seemed to hesitate before she went forward. "Johnny, you know Murdoch didn't mean those things he said. He was trying to get you to leave to keep you safe."

Johnny ducked his head. "Thanks for being honest with me. I needed to know about the Strykers."

"Are you all right?" Stretching her hand toward Johnny, Teresa held it there an instant before dropping it to her side.

"I'm fine, just out here lookin' at that big ol' moon." Leaning over, he picked up a clay pot, and held it up. "You need to water this."

"I know. I searched for that exact cactus; then forgot it needed extra care until its roots took hold." She reached for the container and pushed the rough ends straying out back inside.

Johnny struck a match on the sole of his boot and lit the hanging lantern. "Yeah, takes a while to lay down roots. Hard to make it, all hemmed up, no one caring." He sat down on the adobe and patted the space beside him.

Placing the pot near Johnny's hand, Teresa settled next to him. "You think I can save this one?"

He lifted the planter and gave it a couple of turns. "This stray might still make it. See where it's dark green right here?" He ran a finger along a section. "Shows the plant's got a hankering for a new start." He handed it over to her. "But the thing is, do you think this is the best place for a cactus?" 

"Johnny?" Teresa put a hand out to touch his face. When her fingers almost made contact, he stood and walked toward the front door. After only a couple of steps, he stopped.

"Oh, T'resa, don't mind me. Your desert shrub will be fine. Give it some water, and if it don't grow, get another one. There's more cactus out there than Murdoch's got cattle."

"I don't want another one. I have the one I want, and I plan to take good care of it."

Johnny looked away from her. The ranch sounds of cattle and horses filled the long silence before he started back to the house. The lantern's flame reflected in the moisture of his eyes, and there was sadness in his voice when he paused and spoke. "T'resa, you've got more heart than anyone I know."

Murdoch agreed. The love Teresa shared with them seeped like glue into the broken places to make them whole. 

Murdoch slipped further into the shadows. Closing the French door without a sound, he leaned against the doorframe, his hand shaking as he took a large sip of the Scotch. He'd poured it earlier before starting to follow Teresa outside—San Francisco's finest import—but it did not go down easy over the lump in his throat. Damn my quick temper and damn my hard words. I'm John's father. He needs to know a caring heart from me. And by good rights, beginning tomorrow, that's what he'll have.

July 2020


End file.
